


To Know the Future

by meganlynn4244



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Do-Over, Fred Weasley Lives, Misguided Dumbledore, Multi, Severus Snape Lives, Weasley Bashing, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-29
Updated: 2016-08-29
Packaged: 2018-08-11 21:32:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7908340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meganlynn4244/pseuds/meganlynn4244
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Harry and Hermione learn that they've been betrayed by those they love, they decide to take drastic measures to fix things. With Severus and the Weasly Twins on their side, they decide to send Severus back in time to ensure they all have better lives.</p><p>*Incomplete so read at your own risk*</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Know the Future

**Author's Note:**

> This work is not complete and may take me a while to update. I'm very open to ideas from plot to pairing. I'm thinking this will ultimately have both M/M and M/F.
> 
> I don't have a Beta (weeps) so all mistakes are my own and feel free to call me on them.

So this is what a broken heart feels like. Harry thought wildly. He was still running, not able to put forth the concentration necessary to Apparate. He didn’t want to think, didn’t want to feel. Just one foot in front of another, faster, running away. Away from the Burrow and the overheard conversation that had turned his world upside down and his heart to stone. He had run for what seemed like hours, though in reality only minutes had passed.

Lungs burning and eyes still stinging with unshed tears, he finally collapsed and looked around. He was in a meadow far from the Burrow. The grass was lush and green, with colorful wild flowers growing everywhere. The sky was a brilliant blue and dotted with fluffy white clouds while the multitude of trees swayed softly in the breeze. It looked so peaceful, but Harry knew looks could be deceiving. Deceiving like the red headed whore who pretended to love him.

'NO!' Harry thought desperately. He didn’t want to think of it, of the perfect morning that had turned into the worst day of his life.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**Earlier that day…**

  
Sunlight streamed through the windows and slanted across the body of a sleeping man with messy black hair. The bedroom was clean, if a bit cluttered. A large black owl was sleeping on a perch in the corner of the room and a nearby desk was strewn with parchment, text books, and a few Chocolate Frog wrappers. A trunk lay open and half packed at the foot of the bed. Clothing was folded neatly on the desk chair and a pair of shoes were at its base. On the man’s nightstand rested a pair of stylish silver glasses and a picture in a heart shaped frame of a beautiful girl with flaming red hair and a cheeky grin. Every so often she would wink and blow a kiss.

Suddenly, the quiet morning was shattered by a loud BOOM. The owl screeched and the man woke with a start, falling to the floor and muttering a quiet curse.

Harry Potter stood and stretched, not worried about his wake up call. He had long since grown accustomed to the sound of the twins experimenting in the time he had lived with them above their shop. The first morning he had not been so calm.

“Easy Shane, you know how they are.” He said as he rubbed the back of the black owls’ neck, exactly where he liked it. The owl let out a soft hoot and seemed to nod before falling back asleep. Though he belonged to the Weasley twins, Shane had taken a liking to Harry and could often be found in his room. Harry had given in and procured a perch for him.

A quick Tempus showed that he was late and he hurriedly began getting ready for the day. This was the day he had been waiting for. He was finally moving out of the twins guest room and moving on with his 'after war' life. Today was August 31st, the day before Ginny would be starting her 7th and final year at Hogwarts. It had been a long hard road, but the school was reopening after the devastating war that had taken place there a few months before. Magic still amazed him.

Hermione had hoped they would be able to go back to school, but the Board had been adamant, there could be no 8th year. Those who had missed their NEWTs were encouraged to study privately and would be given the opportunity to take the all-important exams at Hogwarts along with the new 7th year students.

Banging could be heard coming from the Testing Room. He made his way into the room and leaned against the wall, watching the fiasco that was the Weasley Twins. They were wearing white lab coats and cackling madly. Harry had made the mistake of comparing them to mad scientists and, after much explaining, they had taken the image and run with it.

“Oi you two,” He said, grabbing their attention, “Don’t go and blow yourselves up on my last day as your flat mate. Your mother would kill me.”

The twins laughed and placed a stasis spell on the potion they had been concocting. It looked like flubber but let out large noxious looking purple bubbles at a steady rate. He tried not to worry.

“Well, if it isn’t the,”  
“Man-Who-Vanquished,”  
“finally awake and,”  
“looking rather heroic.”

Harry groaned, he hated that name, and the Twin speak they practiced was dizzying. “Guys, don’t call me that. Honestly, how does the Prophet come up with these names?” He pouted as he took a seat at the small table in the corner.

“Well, it’s better than”  
“the Bat-Who-Spied.”

The three looked at each other and burst out laughing, reminiscing and debating over what color the so called bat had turned when he first heard his new nickname, (Puce was the winning opinion). Severus had been apocalyptic when the paper had begun to refer to him as the Bat-Who-Spied.

After Harry defeated Voldemort, he and Hermione had rushed to the Shrieking Shack, praying that their Potions Master was still alive. He had been, but only just. Thanks to Hermione’s quick thinking, Severus had lived with only a scar left to remind him of his close encounter with death.

A week later he was a free man. It helped that the “Man-Who-Vanquished” testified on his behalf. The Ministry officials fell over themselves to do anything Harry asked these days. It was somewhat pathetic and greatly disconcerting.

After that, Severus and Harry had finally sat down like adults to clear the air. None were more surprised than the pair to find that they actually got along. After comparing notes, they realized they had been conditioned and manipulated to constantly be at odds and decided to forge a strong friendship.

"So Harry, how is Hermione holding up?" Fred asked seriously.

Immediately after the war, the infamous Trio had taken a special Portkey to Australia to find Hermione’s parents. To say they had been less than pleased would be an understatement. They had returned to England and resumed their lives, however their relationship with Hermione was now strained at best. More often than not, they pretended they had no daughter, which could be awkward when said daughter was at the same breakfast table.

Harry grimaced. "Not well. I should finish packing so I can meet her on time."

Just a few days ago, Hermione had finally agreed to give her parents space to get over their ordeal. She and Harry decided to clean out 12 Grimmauld Place and move in together. Though Harry enjoyed living with the Twins, he wanted to make a home for himself and was ecstatic to do so with his sister in all but blood.

Now, Grimmauld Place was ready for habitation once more and he would be meeting Hermione there to officially move in and share a celebratory lunch.

"Take care Harry, you're both always welcome here." George said while Fred simply nodded along, looking strangely glum.

"Thanks, both of you, for taking me in and helping me so much." He grinned.

"Of course! Anything,"  
"for our benefactor!"

After double thumping pats to each shoulder, Harry returned to his room and magically finished his packing. The desk clutter righted itself and fit neatly into his trunk while other various missed items also found their way into the trunk.

Shane hooted indignantly as his perch began to fold in on itself.

"Sorry Shane, I'm still having trouble overpowering my spells." Harry apologized sheepishly and returned the perch to its original state.

Once Voldemort had been vanquished, an exhausted Harry had slept in the hospital wing for nearly two days. When he awoke he began to notice that his spells worked better than before and were more powerful, almost to the point of being unmanageable.

Fred and George had helped by giving him a safe place to adjust. The room they used to test products was heavily warded to protect themselves and others from the dangerous things they experimented with. It had been perfect for Harry, as a few times his Expelliarmus had caused the test dummy to explode rather spectacularly.

"Thank you for keeping me company. Watch out for the Twins, Merlin knows they need a keeper sometimes." Harry laughed as the owl affectionately nipped at his fingers.

With one last look around the room, Harry shrunk his trunk and Disapparated with a near silent pop, reappearing in the darkened library of 12 Grimmauld Place.

Hermione was already there, looking wan though she attempted a smile. Without a word, Harry drew her into a tight hug. She remained stiff for a moment before giving in and releasing the tight reigns she kept on her emotions.

A sniffle turned into a sob and a moment later she was weeping steadily, relying on Harrys strength to keep her upright. It was far too easy for him as she was still worrisomely thin after their year on the run. Harry simply let her cry, whispering soothing nonsense and running his fingers through her hair.

"They didn't even say good bye." She explained, her voice watery and muffled in Harrys shoulder.

He sighed, wishing he could magically fix things for her and hating the fact that he couldn't.

"'Mione, they just need time. They love you, but they're confused and hurt and angry right now."

"I think they're afraid of me now, and I can't think of any reason why they shouldn’t be." She confessed, voice pitched low as if she were afraid to be heard.

"How about because you love them and protected them in the best way you could? You did what you thought was best to protect them." Harry retorted, gentle yet firm.

She nodded shakily, still looking torn.

Harry placed his finger under her chin and lifted until he could look into her eyes. "They'll get over it."

"And if they don't?" She asked plaintively.

"If they don't," he replied, "your life will go on. You'll be surrounded by so many people who love you and want to make you happy. You'll have a family of your own; you already do, sis."

At that she gave a bright and teary smile, hugging him firmly. "I love you too, little brother."

"Hey!" He protested. "No need to tack on the 'little'."

"Well I am older - and taller." She teased.

With an overly dramatic gasp of outrage, Harry began to tickle her in retaliation. Her shrieks of laughter bounced around the room and her tears of sorrow were washed away by tears of mirth. It was the best sound Harry had heard in quite a while and he wanted to keep her this happy for as long as he could. Inspiration struck a split second later and he ceased his attack to implement it.

"What do you say we go to the Burrow for lunch instead of eating in here? Molly says we're always welcome and I'm sure you'd love to see Ron just as much as I'd love to see Ginny."

They both went a little dreamy at the thought of their respective partners. It was hard being away from them for any length of time and, though they had eaten dinner with the Weasleys just the night before, they each yearned for the touch of their loved one with a desire that only seemed to grow by the day.

Harry grew flushed, thinking of Ginny. They had made love for the first time the day after the final battle and it was like everything in him clicked and he knew with every fiber of his being that Ginny was his life. He needed her forever. Her touch, her laughter, her companionship. He loved everything about this woman and everything he did from that moment on was for her or because of her.

"I'd really like that Harry, thank you." She smiled gratefully.

\-------------------

Harry and Hermione decided to Side-Along Apparate rather than Floo, as Harry still immensely disliked it. They appeared near the ramshackle home affectionately referred to as the Burrow and set toward the kitchen door in quick strides.

"Mum, I don't think this potion is working. Harry must be sterile or something because I'm still not pregnant." Came Ginny's voice through the kitchen window.

Harry and Hermione froze in their tracks. Both were thinking they must have heard incorrectly as they shot a panicked look at the other. This was simply not something they would ever expect to hear.

"Ginny darling," Molly replied, "I'm sure he isn't sterile. It must be the combination of potions we've given him. We should be able to stop the lust potions by now. Your charms and his memories will be all you need to continue sleeping with him."

Ginny made an impatient huffing sound as Harry and Hermione crept closer to the window, staying low to avoid being seen.

"Very well," she moaned, "but we are adding a virility potion! I'm so sick of faking it for that boy!"

Her tone was one of disgust and impatience. This more than anything broke Harry's heart.

As Harry's world was crumbling around him, Hermione looked on helplessly. She was stunned and hurt. She couldn't believe that two people she had trusted so much could do something so reprehensible.

Her hopes that Ron had not been party to this were dashed a moment later.

"Oh quit whining," Ron bit out angrily, "at least you've had breaks from the Dumb Duo. I had to befriend them and throw myself into danger year after year. The only good thing that's come of this is fucking that know it all disaster. I only wish those potions made her less of a frigid bitch." He laughed.

This latest blow had taken Harry and Hermione completely by surprise. That someone could fake an almost eight year friendship was astonishing and heartbreaking all at once.

Harry looked on as Hermione turned red, then white, and finally green. He could see in her eyes that she wanted to escape the nightmare as much as he did.

Not only had they been so lied to, they had also been drugged. There were so many questions. Why? How? When?

As tears streamed down Hermione's face, Harry grew angrier. The final blow came from the woman they had both thought of as a mother.

"Now now," she smiled, "once Ginny is pregnant we'll be able to give Hermione a potion so you can do whatever you wish with her. Then we'll be able to arrange an accident for Harry, take his vaults, and live happily ever after." Sighing, she continued, "If only Dumbledore were alive to see his plans come to fruition."

This seemed to unfreeze the duo as they quickly backed away, tears streaming down their faces. Hermione turned and broke out into a run. Harry quickly followed, soon losing himself to the thoughts and feelings raging within.

When he finally stopped, he simply collapsed. Soon after, Hermione caught up and fell down with him. He hadn't even noticed passing her.

They reached for each other and quietly Apparated to Grimmuld place.

As they appeared in the front hall of the house, Hermione lost the last thread of stability she had clung to and collapsed, sobbing. Harry quickly drew her into his arms in an attempt to comfort her.

"What are we going to do Harry?" She asked in a small voice. "We can't go back there, I can't sit next to him and feel so much love but know it's a lie. They used potions on us! How could they?"

Harry sighed into her hair, holding her tightly. "I don't know Mione. I'm not sure if I could keep myself from killing him if I saw him. No one hurts my sister and gets away with it. I hate Ginny right now, but I can't help but love her too."

"So we're agreed," Hermione sighed, raising her head, "we can't see them until we have a plan in place."

Harry nodded grimly, and loosened his hold a bit to look into her eyes. They were filled with sadness and tears, but he could see the usual determination and intelligence behind them. Seeing this sparked his own determination and he found himself taking action.

"Kreacher!" Harry called. As the ugly elf popped in he continued, "Seal the Floo and ban anyone from coming in without out permission, especially the Weasley family. They have betrayed us and are no longer considered Friends of this House."

"Kreacher will do as Master says." He toned before disappearing with a snap of his long fingers.

"Now Hermione, we need some way of determining what potions were used and how to counteract them. Can we do that here? I want to avoid making this news if we can help it, so the DMLE is out for now."

Hermione smiled sadly and nodded. "I agree and I have everything I need. It's actually a fairly simple diagnostic spell and then I should be able to brew the antidote in the basement. I'm glad I insisted on setting up a Potions Lab now."

"Good. What can I do to help?" He asked.

"I'll need parchment and a standard self-inking quill. You can grab those while I find the spell book. I want to make sure I remember all the details to perform the diagnostic." She trailed off, already searching for the proper trunk in her purse. She still hadn't gotten out of the habit of carrying necessities with her.

Harry hurried to the study and pulled the necessary supplies from the desk. Plans were still being formed and discarded in his mind. He had been through a war but nothing had prepared him for such an awful scenario.

Returning to Hermione, he found her sitting in the kitchen with her nose buried in a book. He smiled and a wave of fondness overcame him. He really loved Hermione and wished his feelings were romantic. Being with her would have been effortless, but he only saw her as a sister and knew she viewed him as a brother.

He sat across from Hermione and laid the supplies down, waiting patiently for her to finish reading. He didn't have to wait long.

"Alright Harry, I'll perform the diagnostic on you first. I need to spell the quill and parchment and then you will place a drop of blood on the parchment where you want the quill to start. It will list any potions or spells you are currently affected by and how long they've been in place as well as any physical injuries, past or present." Hermione explained, already waving her wand in intricate patterns.

The quill and parchment glowed briefly and she finally looked up.

"Ready?" She asked.

Harry simply nodded and used his wand to prick his finger. Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, he let a drop fall onto the parchment.

The quill immediately moved over the parchment and began writing. And writing…

After a few minutes, Hermione began to quietly sob again. This was far worse that she had expected. Finally, the quill slowed and stopped.

Taking a deep breath, Hermione tentatively reached for the parchment and steeled herself. The contents were horrifying.

Harry fidgeted as she read, embarrassed beyond belief at the thought of her seeing the injuries his relatives had wrought. He knew it wasn't a pretty picture and, although he had come to terms with it, the feelings of weakness and shame still hit him at odd times.

When she looked up, his heart clenched. She looked so heartbroken. "Harry, how did you survive all this? You should be dead. They very nearly killed you!"

"Magic?" Harry shrugged.

"That's not funny Harry." She scolded.

"It's a little funny, and probably true." He defended sheepishly.

"Of course!" Hermione exclaimed, thinking furiously and beginning to pace. Harry let her go, realizing she would be unresponsive until she had completed her epiphany.

"Harry, you said Dumbledore set blood wards. I think they worked to protect you to an extent by healing you, but because they were tied to your blood the power really came from you. The wards just channeled it!" She finished excitedly.

"Ok, so what does that mean?"

"Don't you see! It explains everything! Your own magic was healing you while also remaining constantly prepared to specifically protect you from Voldemort. You were already malnourished but the magic expended also contributed to your stunted growth. When you turned 17, the wards on the house broke, but your blood was still weakly working to protect you and it didn't stop until Voldemort was gone. That's when you got full control of your powers, that's why it seemed like it increased."

"So, I only had access to some of my magic and the wards had control of the rest?"

"Exactly!"

"So it's Dumbledore's fault that I'm short." Harry scowled .

Hermione laughed. "Not quite what I was focusing on, but yes. You'd likely be taller if the blood wards hadn't drained you so much."

"Well, good to know… but can anything be done now to counteract it?"

"I'm sorry Harry, it's too late. If it had been caught and handled in first or second year, they could have done something." She explained regretfully.

He nodded, it was just his luck. Accepting it and moving on he asked, "What about the potions?"

"They used some highly illegal potions. Amorentia as well as some other low level love potions and lust potions. Multiple loyalty potions and inhibitors."

Harry whistled lowly. "Sounds bad. Are the cures easy to make, at least?"

"Well, yes and no. Some of these can be taken care of with a single cure, but the mixture and the longevity may make it impossible to fully cure. I've just never heard of such an extensive case. There is no way of knowing. The cure could even kill you!"

Harry took a deep breath as Hermione's panic grew with every new thought she had.

"Let's move on for now. Do your diagnostic before we get ahead of ourselves."

She nodded tearfully and performed the same spell on another sheet. Less than a minute later the quill Stopped and Hermione glanced at the results, frowning.

"Well?" Harry asked.

"They used the same potions on me, but added a very mild hatred potion." She she revealed worriedly. "I can't think of who it would be tied to."

"Hatred!" Harry exclaimed. "What would that cause?"

"It would depend on my natural feelings for the person. If I already disliked them, then it would cause me to hate them. If I was indifferent, it would cause dislike. If I had deeper feelings, it would just cause indifference or mild friendship."

"So it really could be keyed to anyone."

"Yes."

Harry nodded. "Well then, no use focusing on it. We need a new plan. Neither of us can use a simple cure."

Hermione nodded morosely. "Right. I think we should ask Severus to take a look. If anyone can cure us, it's him."

Harry smirked, a look that was odd coming from him, and gleefully agreed. "He is going to be livid."

"Yes, especially if he brewed the potions for Dumbledore thinking they would be used for an enemy." Hermione thought out loud.

Harry cackled and nearly skipped to the fireplace as Hermione looked on, amused.

"Spinners End." He called out as he threw in a dash of Floo Powder. As the flames grew green he thrust his head inside and started calling out Severus' name.

A few seconds later, Severus appeared.

"Harry, I didn't expect to see you today."

"Yes. Well." Harry began awkwardly, unsure how to explain. "We ran into an issue and need your help. Could you come through so we can explain?"

"Of course." Severus agreed readily. "Step aside."

With that Harry stood and the flames parted for Severus.

"What have you two gotten yourselves into now?" He asked, seeing the worry on their faces.

Harry and Hermione looked to each other, neither sure how to start.

"Ah," Severus sighed. "I have a feeling I should be sitting down with a drink."

"That may be best." Hermione admitted while Harry hurried to pour all three large tumblers of Firewhiskey.

The trio sat at the table, gently sipping their drinks in silence for a few moments. When the tension began to seep out of the younger, Severus put down his own glass.

"I don't care which of you starts, but it had best be soon. You're beginning to worry me." Severus admitted.

Hermione nodded and opened her mouth to begin, only to be interrupted by Harry.

"Ginny hates me! And Ron was never really our friend! And Dumbledore and Molly potioned us so they could kill me and steal my vault! And Dumbledore made me short!" He blurted out in a whiny manner before taking another gulp of his Firewhiskey, after which his head thumped to the table and remained there.

Severus' eyes widened with each statement. Taking another sip, he turned to Hermione. "I think it would be best if you continued. From the beginning."

So Hermione told him of what they had overheard, verbatim, and showed him the diagnostics they had performed.

"So you can see our problem. I just cannot think of any way to safely reverse all of this." She finished.

Severus finished his drink and dropped it heavily into the table with barely concealed fury. "That's because there is none."

Harry finally lifted his head. "So I'll always feel this way?" He asked sadly.

Anger surged through Severus, he hated how small Harry's voice sounded. It was unacceptable. "There may not be solution now, but I will not stop until I find a way to help you." He promised solemnly.

They nodded, relieved that they had such a formidable ally.

"I'll need to make use of your library, in the meantime, what have you decided to do about the Weasley's?" Severus queried. "Do you suspect any of the others?"

Harry and Hermione paled, they hadn't considered that the rest of the Weasley's may have been complicit.

"I don't know." Harry shook. "I don't think the twins knew about this, but I never suspected Ron, Ginny, or Molly either."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully, chewing on her lip. "I want to believe that Fred and George are innocent. I'm not sure about Arthur. The others are probably not involved. They just aren't home enough."

"Then I propose we call the Twins over. Show them your memories, this isn't something you can just accuse their mother and siblings of without proof. If they are innocent, we could use their help. If not, well…" Severus trailed off menacingly.

"Alright." Harry agreed, "I'll get them and meet you both in the library. Hermione, I'm sure you have a Pensieve in the bag of yours."

"Of course." She agreed distractedly.

A few moments later, Harry's head was once more in the Floo.

"Harry!"  
"Missed us already?"

Harry gave a broken smile and nodded.

"What's wrong?" Fred demanded upon seeing Harry's grief stricken mien.

"I--" Harry's voice broke.

"We're coming through." The twins said together.

Harry scrambled out of the way as the fire whooshed and spat out the red headed terrors he prayed were still his brothers on all but blood.

As soon as they gained their footing, they were on him, sandwiching him into a tight hug. The embrace made him tear up slightly, which seemed to alarm them.

"What's wrong, Harry?" George asked.

"Where is Hermione, is she ok?" Fred worried continued, looking around.

Harry didn't know what to tell them, and was glad that he wouldn't really have to. Thank goodness for Pensieves.

"Hermione is in the library with Severus. We -- Something happened. We need your help."

"Anything." They said, in a rare moment of seriousness.

Walking into the library, they saw Hermione removing a memory and placing it in the Pensieve. Severus sat nearby, engrossed in two books and looking harried.

"Hello gentlemen." Hermione greeted them without looking in their direction. "I think it would be best if you just took a look at the memories and we can talk after."

Fred put a reassuring hand on Hermione's shoulder until she gave a soft smile and finally looked up at him. "Don't worry Mione. Whatever it is, we'll figure it out." Fred promised. She just smiled weakly and gestured toward the Pensieve.

Together, the twins entered the memory. Silence reigned in the library for the duration while Hermione and Harry paced fretfully.

When the memories came to a close, the twins shakily stood up. George was pale and crying while Fred was red with fury.

"I'm going to kill him." Fred growled as he strode toward the fireplace with righteous purpose. Hermione gasped and moved to intercept him.

"Fred, no. Please." She begged, hands pushed firmly against his chest.

Fred stopped but let out a frustrated huff. "He deserves in Mione. Let me do this."

"I can't. Please Fred, I agree that they all deserve to be punished, but killing anyone would be breaking the law and and I can't bear seeing you thrown into Azkaban. I need to here with me. We'll figure out something else, all of us, together."

Gazing down at her, Fred softened and nodded.

George was gulping down Firewhiskey which Harry had helpfully provided and asked "What can we do?"

Severus responded, "Take a look at these diagnostic results. I don't think we can safely administer a cure but perhaps you two will have an idea.

Grateful to have something to do, they all sat and began pouring over the library. Kreacher kept them fed and provided strong tea as they began to wane. Several hours later, no one was willing to admit defeat but knew there was no cure to be found.

"I may have an idea." Hermione admitted slowly. "But it's a bit mad and very extreme."

Harry laughed tiredly. "I already love it. Let's do it."

This brought on faint chuckling and they all turned their attention to Hermione., closing books and stretching.

"Well, it was something I worked on during the war." She revealed hesitantly. "A backup plan in case we failed."

"Of course you did." Harry said fondly.

She grinned. "Well, our plans do tend to go wrong and I had other backup plans too. This one was for last, for the worse case scenario. It's dangerous and very probably illegal. It could have made things worse in the end so I was glad we never had use of it."

"Enough with the disclaimer. What was the idea and how will it help us now?" Snape demanded.

"I developed a way to send someone's mind back in time." She confessed.

They all stared at her in shock.

"Like a time-turner?" Harry asked.

"Not quite, instead of going back hours you could go back years and you would literally be your past self, not a double." She explained. "This way, you could change things and not worry about a paradox."

"Merlins beard." George exclaimed.

Snape was in awe of her. "That's impossible. Even if you fixed the paradox issue, it could creat an alternate time stream and change nothing in our time."

Hermione rushed to reassure him. "It wouldn't, the way it works, it would be just like seeing the future. You are not going back in time, it's more that your memories are going to your past self."

"You're amazing." Fred breathed.

Blushing, she continued. "There are limitations. We need multiple people to perform the spell on whomever is going back and I can't control how far you will go. It depends on the amount of power put into the spell. Of course, you can't go back further than you've been alive."

Harry's mind was reeling with the possibilities. "This is amazing Hermione, why didn't we do this last year? We could have saved so many lives!"

"Perhaps." She hedged. "But we also could have cause more deaths. This of this, maybe somehow we managed to send you back to early third year. What would you do?"

He didn't hesitate. "I would nab Wormtail and free Sirius. You can't tell me that wouldn't be better! He would be free to help the Order more and I could also prevent his death!" Harry passionately reasoned.

The Twins nodded, looking convinced while Hermione and Severus shared a look.

"Would you like to explain or should I." She asked Saeverus wryly.

Severus sighed and took over. "While that may seem like an obviously good idea, it would have far reaching consequences. Think. Wormtail is locked up, the Dark Lord would be forced to make other arrangements and would likely be more desperate. There is no way of knowing what he would do. He may decide to use someone else for 'blood of the enemy' and you wouldn't even know he had risen until he was upon you."

Harry deflated and the Twins looked glum. These were all good points and the idea was seeming more complicated by the second.

"Also," Hermione explained gently, "I'm not sure we could go that far back. It's very imprecise and would take a lot of power. According to my calculations, I would likely only have enough power to send you back six months. Fred and George would be roughly the same. Severus is probably double that. I would estimate we could send you back sometime in February of our fifth year, give or take a month."

"So, after Mr. Weakly is attacked and before my last Occlumency lesson?" Harry questioned.

She nodded her confirmation.

Severus chimed in then. "There is another issue, beyond the fact that you would be forced to defeat the Dark Lord once again."

"Well that's a lovely thought." Fred burst in cheerfully.  
"We can always count on you to cheer us up!" George finished.

"Quite." Severus drawled. "The problem is that we don't know when they started using potions on you. You could very well end up in the past, reliving your worst memories and still be in the same position."

This sobered the room.

"Actually," Hermione started slowly, thinking hard. "We've been assuming Harry would be the one to go back, but it may be better if he was part of the group performing the spell. His power is erratic, but higher than any of us at its lowest. We'd have a better chance of sending someone back further."

"I vote for Severus!" Harry shouted raising his hand in the air.

The others nodded and Severus looked faintly constipated at the thought of going back to being the hated double agent. Unfortunately, it did make sense.

"It's a good plan." Hermione agreed. "With Harry's power, Severus could end up in our Third Year, or possibly even before we started Hogwarts. Also, as an adult, he would have a better chance of changing things for the better."

"Seconded. All those in favor say Aye"! George declared.

The young adults all said 'Aye' and Severus rolled his eyes.

"Fine, you little beasts." He acceded. "I'll do it, but you need to tell me everything you can about your part of the war and anything I need to look out for or change. We have to plan this together as much as possible. I don't want to push your younger selves to something you wouldn't want."

Harry yawned. "I'll tell you anything you want. Just let me sleep first."

The others began reflexively copying him and they knew why when they looked at the clock.

"It is late." Severus agreed. "Let's get some rest and resume this in the morning."

"Would you all stay with us tonight, please?" Harry asked waveringly.

They all agreed and soon Kreature had rooms ready for them all and they were settling in. It had been a long day and while they were grateful for each others support, they knew the battle had only just begun.

 

 

 


End file.
